MemberIf you had 4 vendors you were providing meals (DJ+ assistant and photographer + assistant), where would you seat them for their meal? Mixed among your guests? At a separate table? At a separate smaller table? Would you decorate this table the same as all your other tables or leave off the centrepiece?
I’m trying to figure out if I need to go out and get another vase and more candles for another table.
MemberOur vendors eat in the kitchen, and are not seated among our guests. Many specifically asked to not be seated at a guest table for their meal.
MemberThis is a GREAT question. I do not know the answer but am subscribing!
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MemberThey are not seated with the guests. I honestly did not worry about my vendors eating. I hired them to work, not to eat. They were responsible for eating and taking care of their tummies on their time, not on mine. That might sound cold, but they weren’t guests. I don’t think they really want to be treated like guests, because they’re there to work.
Memberwe got 1 extra table for the vendors to sit at if they needed to and it looked just like the tables for the guests- same linen, centerpiece, etc. i believe our dj, bartender, and the photo booth attendants just stayed seated at their “stations,” but our photographer and mariachi sat at the table we provided.
edit: if it matters, the dj, mariachi, and bartender, are old friends of my parents, so we couldn’t NOT feed them, but even if they were strangers, they still would have been seated at a table.
Member@abbie017: My vendors told me the same. They said it would be awkward to sit with guests.
MemberI’m assuming they eat in the kitchen. We are paying for vendor meals too (it’s part of our contract).
MemberI actually have no ideas where my vendors ate! I was too busy with everything else to notice :/ We did provide them with food, though. 🙂 And, we didn’t receive complaints.
HostessWe will probably have a separate table just for our vendors [2 bartenders, 1 photographer & assistant, and our dj]. Our DJ is a client of mine [I’ve hired her to DJ at my place of business many times], so I will probably seat her at my co-worker table, since she knows/likes them. The others will probably be at another table.
We have a kitchen at our venue but its not nearly big enough to put a table in. They are very welcome to eat at their station if they like as well. Whatever works for them.
MemberThere’s no kitchen at our venue (museum)… at least as far as I know… so that’s not an option for us. Besides, I’d want our photographer close by in case there happens to be a photo op. It’s part of our contracts to provide food, but I couldn’t imagine not feeding someone dinner if they’ll be working with us for 8-10 hours.
I guess I should just setup a table for them … Will it look weird though having one table that would be empty if no one sits at it?
MemberThis is a great question.. I think the only person who would need a meal is our photographer but she is going to be by herself so not sure when she would eat since she will be there getting pictures of the day.
MemberMy DJ specifically wanted to just eat in his booth.
The photographers happened to eat in the lobby area, but they were advised that there was an empty chair at a table that had a good view of the head table if they wanted to eat and be able to snap a picture if something particularly awesome happened during dinner. It turned out they switched off taking photos and eating in the lobby really quick.
MemberSome of ours ate in the kitchen because they got hungry during the reception. I believe the photogs ate in shifts. The rest, including coordinators, waited til the entire thing was over before sitting down to eat. The waiters just re-set a couple of the guest tables for them and served them there. only the photogs were able to eat during because there was enough of them to work in shifts but everyone else waited… I’m guessing they had a light meal between our ceremony and reception to tide them over til dinner.
MemberAs a vendor myself, photographer, we suggest a separate set up table for vendors. A lot of venues will help you set this up and offer this option for you, or they will suggest an area where they can put the vendors for dinner time. Sometimes a specifi venue doesn’t have a room to put vendors, and they don’t want them in the kitchen area becuase they’ll just be in the way with all the food service going on in there. especially if it’s a sit down dinner.
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